United in the face of tragedy

Hurricane Daniel that hit Eastern Libya in mid-September was so massive and destructive that it can literally be described as ‘apocalyptic’.

It drowned towns and villages and obliterated the lovely city of Derna almost entirely, sending people, buildings, animals and cars to the bottom of the sea, making the seabed a massive graveyard.

The real culprit, however, were the unprecedented floods which engulfed the dreamy city, moving with an incredible force and speed after the city’s two major dams collapsed. It was powerful, ferocious and merciless. Thousands of people lost their lives and thousands became homeless.

There is no comparable natural disaster that ravaged our region in recent history except the massive earthquake of Messina that struck Sicily and Calabria in December 1908 and claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people. Just a few days before Hurricane Daniel, a massive earthquake hit central Morocco, also killing thousands.

Mankind, throughout history, has faced natural disasters – hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, eruption of dormant volcanoes and other manifestations of nature’s rage. They reveal to us our vulnerability in the universe. However, as believers in a God who is all knowing and benevolent, we cannot and should not attribute evil to the merciful creator.

We accept such events as a test of our endurance and beliefs and, as we do not see the full picture of the cycle of events, an event which seems now devastating and purely evil may be succeeded by good fortune and well-being for mankind. It is an unescapable cycle to which mankind is destined or, at least, this is how it seems.

Philosophical speculation aside, the tragedy that hit Eastern Libya shook us to the core. Until now, bodies are still being found in the sea and from under the rubble. Thousands of misplaced people are being relocated all over Libya.

What is truly formidable, however, is that the tragedy united Libyans and the political divisions simply vanished. There was no more Eastern Libya, or Western Libya, or Southern Libya; just one Libya united in the face of tragedy.

The whole world was stunned as it became apparent that politicians created the divisions, not the Libyan people. The hurricane rubbished the myth that Libya was a divided country and that Libyans had little sense of unity, being a tribal society. In fact, throughout history what united Libyans was much greater than what divided them.

It is now clear that the divisions are the making of shortsighted politicians and dysfunctional legislative institutions, perpetuating and serving their own narrow interests, as most UN envoys had remarked. In fact, not only are these institutions dysfunctional but also disruptive to the political process.

Let Derna be a symbol for Libya’s unity and resurrection- Saadun Suayeh

There is a gigantic task of rebuilding Derna and the rest of Eastern Libyan towns and villages devastated by the hurricane. The current rescue and emergency response by many countries, including Malta, which has its own team working in Derna, is formidable but much more is needed.

The local authorities are trying their best but logistics are rendered difficult by the fact that the legitimate National Unity Government does not have direct control over Eastern Libya. It is, therefore, most important for Libya to work under a united, strong government. The United Nations and the major international actors should help Libya move in this direction. Dysfunctional institutions should be replaced soon by competent elected bodies.

It is also of paramount importance to investigate whether there were human shortcomings that contributed to the disaster.

In fact, the Office of The Attorney General has already embarked on a large investigation process to determine accountability.

There are questions concerning the collapse of the two dams of Derna, which unleashed millions of cubic metres of water flooding the entire city and sending people and buildings into the sea.

We need to know whether there were already significant structural weaknesses in the old two dams, which contributed to their collapse under massive pressure. Was the response to immediate evacuation proper or delayed? How did the officials spend the budgets allocated to them? And to what extent did the political divisions between Eastern and Western Libya, affecting most sovereign institutions such as the Central Bank, contribute to the disaster?

The time has come for Libya to pick up its fragmented pieces. While the top priority is to rebuild Derna and the other devastated towns, we should simultaneously engage in rebuilding and rehabilitating Libya’s infrastructure neglected by years of internal conflicts and feuds.

Equally important is the engagement, under UN supervision, in a process of significant political restructuring leading to elections, both legislative and presidential.

Unless this is done in an organised and well-planned manner, the Libyan people will erupt in a volcano of rage in the aftermath of the tragedy. Let Derna be a symbol for Libya’s unity and resurrection. Like the mythological phoenix, Derna will rise from the ashes, resurrecting an entire nation.

Saadun Suayeh is the former Libyan ambassador to Malta.